Supporting device for fans for the transport of hot gases



April 25, 1961 K. DAGRELL 2,981,463 SUPPORTING DEVICE FOR FANS FOR THE TRANSPORT 0F HOT GASES Filed May 29, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORI KNUT DAGRELL ATTYS.

April 1961 K. DAGRELL 2,981,463

SUPPORTING DEVICE FOR FANS FOR THE TRANSPORT 0F HOT GASES Filed May 29, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORI KNUT DAGRELL BY bwmzm ATTys.

United States Patent SUPPORTING DEVICE FOR FANS FOR THE TRANSPORT OF HOT GASES Knut Dagrell, Jonkopings, Sweden, assignor to Aktie bolaget Svenska Fliiktfabriken, Stockholm, Sweden Filed May 29,1959, Ser. No. 816,975

Claims priority, application Sweden July 9, 1958 1 Claim. (Cl. 230-235) The present invention relates to a supporting device for a fan for the transport of hot gases, and has particular application to a device consisting of a propeller fan with adjustable-pitch fan blades mounted in a housing having an exhaust diffuser. The fan is mounted on an axle, the driving end of which is journaled on a fixed foundation, arranged outside the housing and mounting the driving means connected to the driving end of the axle. The axle is also supported by bearings attached in the housing. At the opposite end of the housing an adjustment mechanism, supported by a diffuser, includes a disc co-axially journaled on the fan axle for adjusting the fan blades and rotatable with the fan wheel.

In accordance with the invention, the housing and the diffuser are supported by two or more pairs of bearing plates attached on both sides of the fan housing and the diffuser respectively. The plates are arranged at the level of the centre-line of the fan axle and its extension respectively, and are arranged to rest on fixed pedestals being retained and pressed against these by means of free-running bolts and springs arranged around these bolts. In addition at least one guiding rule is attached to a fixed foundation and engages into a guiding means attached to the housing which is parallel with the fan axle.

It is an object of the invention to insure by simple means that the axle of the fan and the adjustment mechanism arranged in the extension of said axle will assume their intended positions with their respective centre-lines in a straight line independently of the occurring temperature variations. In earlier arrangements-where the fan aggregate has been supported by foundations arranged under the fan housing and the diffuser respectively disturbances in the operation have often occurred owing to that the fan axle and the adjustment mechanism often were mutually displaced. The expansions caused by temperature variations were not of the same absolute value in different parts of the fan aggregate with the mentioned disadvantage as a consequence.

The invention will now be more fully described with reference to the accompanying drawing which shows an exemplifying embodiment of a large propeller fan aggregate constructed with a supporting device according to Patented Apr. 25, 1961 Fig. 7 is an enlarged side elevation of the structure shown in Fig. 6.

In the drawing 1 indicates a propeller fan arranged in a housing 2, to which is connected at one end an inlet hood 3 and at the other end an exhaust diffuser 4. The fan 1 is rotated on an axle 5, and is made with adjustable fan blades 6, pivoted by axle-journals 7 in the fan hub. The adjustment of the fan blades is carried out in a known manner by means of an adjustment disc 8, which may be axially displaced and thereby will influence crank levers 9, attached to the axle-journals 7. The adjustment disc 8 is rotated on an axle 10, attached co-axially with the fan axle 5. The axle 10 may be' displaced axially by means of an adjustment mechanism 11, operated from the outside. The last mentioned axle 10 and also part of the adjustment mechanism is enclosed in a hub-cone 12, arranged inside the exhaust diffuser 4. The fan axle 5 is supported by bearings 13 in the fan housing 2 and inlet hood 3, and is at the driving end 511 connected to an electric motor 15 by means of a coupling 14. The mentioned driving end 5a on the fan axle is rotatably mounted on a fixed foundation 16 arranged outside the inlet housing, and constituting part of the foundation 17 for the powermotor 15. The foundation 17 in turn is resting on a. concrete foundation 18 of suitable height.

According to the invention the fan housing 2 and the exhaust diffuser 4 are supported by means of two or more pairs of bearing plates 19, attached on both sides of the fan housing and the exhaust diffuser respectively at the same level as the centre-lines of the fan axle 5 and its extension 10 respectively. The mentioned bearing plates 19 rest on independent, fixed pedestals 20 against which they are pressed by spring bias means consisting of bolts 21, free-running in the bearing plates 19 and springs 22 arranged around the bolts and compressed between the bearing plates 19 and flat-bar irons or washers 23 mounted on the bolts. Below the foundations 20 there 'are concrete plinths 24. For the guiding of the fan aggregate, the fan housing 2 is on the underneath provided with two guiding means 25, parallel with the fan axle into which guiding means a guiding rule 26attached to a fixed foundation 27engage.

What I claim is:

A fan for hot gases, drive means for said fan including a fan axle, a fan housing enclosing said axle, an exhaust diffuser secured to said housing, bearing plates projecting outwardly from opposite sides of said housing and diffuser at the horizontal level of the center-line of the fan axle, a fixed foundation exterior of said housing supporting said drive means and pournaling said fan axle at one end, means within said housing journalling said fan axle at the other end, fixed pedestal means exterior of said housing and underlying each bearing plate to support the same, spring bias means biasing said plates against said pedestal means affording displacement of said plates in a direction parallel to said fan axle, a second fixed foundation underlying said housing, a guiding rule on said foundation, and guiding means on said housing in vertical alignment with and parallel to said fan axle and engaging said guiding rule to afford axial displacement of said housing relative to said fixed foundation.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,066,209 Ljungstrom July 1, 1913 1,716,132 Hodgkinson June 4, 1929 1,986,132 Bigelow Jan. 1, 1935 2,632,997 Howard at al. Mar. 31, 1953 

